The article is pretty good except Thorpe remains clueless about the Bargnani-Johnson pairing. That's okay even a lot of Raptors fans and writers remain clueless about it, though fortunately Triano and BC do not.

While I agree that Johnson is very underrated, this man crush is getting out of hand.

The article is pretty good except Thorpe remains clueless about the Bargnani-Johnson pairing. That's okay even a lot of Raptors fans and writers remain clueless about it, though fortunately Triano and BC do not.

im worried about the amr bargs pairing as well... i mean i just cant see them holding it down against bigs like noah n boozer, gasol n bynum, horford n j smith, kg n j.o.... bosh n big z...

After watching some of the summer games I thought Alabi looked like a high second rounder.

I was expecting more of him because Thorpe bigged him up in his interview with phdsteve too. He looked out of place, a step slow and didn't appear to be trying very hard. Triano and Colangelo were thanking their stars he fell to them but I haven't seen why just yet. Yeah, there's some Dalembert in him but there's also POB.

Bargnani vs Anderson By The Numbers

I compared some of the 09-10 numbers of Bargnani to Anderson.

Conclusion:
-------------------
1. Bargnani was a better shooter, Anderson is a better rebounder and defender.
2. Bargnani's offense did not come close to compensating for his horrible defense.
3. Anderson's defense seemed to offset his poorer shooting and overall looking at all sources his on court/off court numbers appear to be slightly favorable whereas Bargnani's on court/off court numbers were very unfavorable.
4. WS/48 was almost equal. Since Houston and Toronto had almost identical records the team affect on WS/48 in non-existent in this case.
==================================================

Summary line item comparison with respect to 09-10 based upon the numbers B = Bargnani and A = Anderson

1. B was a better shooter from the field including on 3 point attempts
2. B was a better shooter from the free throw line
3. B scored at about a 20% greater rate on a points per 36 minutes basis. While B's Usg% was higher the better scorer could be attributed to better shooting.
4. A was a better rebounder in rebounds per 36 minutes
5. A was a better rebounder in percentage of available rebounds grabbed
6. A and B's Net Offense/Defense Rating according to BaskeballReference.com were both a minus five. This is below average
7. B had a slightly better Roland Rating due to a better shooting percentage and greater usage percentage on offense
8. A had a favorable rating in both on court/off court team points allowed per 100 possessions and effective team field goal percentage allowed.
9. B had an unfavorable rating in both on court/off court team points allowed per 100 possessions and effective team field goal percentage allowed.
10. A had a favorable 1 Year Unadjusted Overall Net Rating
11. B had an unfavorable 1 Year Unadjusted Overall Rating12. A was ranked 4th best in defense on the Rockets last season
13. B was ranked worst in defense on the Raptors last season

09-10 Numbers
---------------------------
MPG------------------------------------------35.0-------14.1
PPG-------------------------------------------17.2--------5.8Points per 36 Min------------------------------17.7-------14.8
FG%------------------------------------------.470-------.432
3FG%-----------------------------------------.372-------.346
FT%------------------------------------------.778-------.687
RPG--------------------------------------------6.2---------3.3Rebounds per 36 Min----------------------------6.3---------8.4
PER--------------------------------------------15.5--------12.1TRB%------------------------------------------10.4--------13.4
USG%------------------------------------------22.3--------20.2
ORtg--------------------------------------------108---------103
DRtg--------------------------------------------113---------108Net Off/Def Rating--------------------------------(5)---------(5)WS/48----------------.072--------.070Simple Roland Rating-----------------------------(2.0--------(3.0)
On Court Pts All Per 100-------------------------116.9------106.9
Off Court Pts All Per 100-------------------------108.3------109.9Net On/Off Court Pts Alll Per 100-------------------8.6------- (3.0) Note: Plus means team allowed more points when player on court and minus means team allowed fewer points when the player on court.
On Court Eff FG% Allow---------------------------52.4--------49.3
Off Court Eff FG% Allow---------------------------48.6--------51.6Net On/Off Court Eff FG% Allow---------------------3.8--------(2.4) Note: Plus means teams allowed opponents to shoot better when player on court and minus means that opponents shot worse when the player was on the court - The lower the number the better.1 Year Unadjusted Overall Net Rtg-----------------(6.88)-------2.88 Note: The greater the positive number the better and the lower the negative number the worse.
1 Year Unadjusted Off Rtg--------------------------2.22--------0.36
1 Year Unadjusted Def Rtg------------------------(9.10)--------2.531 Year Def Rtg Rank on Team---------------------Worst--------4th Best Note: Players that played over 750 minutes

Comment: While I did see Anderson play last season his play does not stick out in my mind. However, based upon the numbers on offense his game on offense seems somewhat similar to Bargnani though not as effective or efficient. It is worth noting that Bargnani and Johnson matched up pretty good last season on both offense and defense. So just based upon the numbers Anderson and Johnson may also match up pretty good.

Will this make Davis the 4th big on the depth chart? Could be. We shall have to wait and see.

dont know much about Andersen to be honest but he shouldnt get minutes and time over davis, that would just be rediculous. Andersen seems to be the type who's good in small doses and from what ive seen-admittingly only from summer league-Davis has shown he can at least hold his own.
if he gains a little size from now until training camp he has the length to play in small spurts at the 5 as well.

dont know much about Andersen to be honest but he shouldnt get minutes and time over davis, that would just be rediculous. Andersen seems to be the type who's good in small doses and from what ive seen-admittingly only from summer league-Davis has shown he can at least hold his own.
if he gains a little size from now until training camp he has the length to play in small spurts at the 5 as well.

My guess is that Davis will come in for Johnson if Johnson gets in early foul trouble. If he doesn't Anderson will come in for Bargs before Davis comes in for Johnson.

No way can Davis play center. He will have enough trouble trying to guard Power Fowards. He should be able to add some strength between now and November but the amount of strength and weight that he needs to really add will take two to three seasons unless he goes the Roid Route.

Andrea Bargnani Interview At Hoopshype - Speaks On Bosh, New Role & Upcoming Season

How do you feel about Chris Bosh leaving the Raptors? On one hand, it obviously makes the team a little weaker. But on the other, it helps you individually because you are going to have a bigger role. How do you feel about that?

Andrea Bargnani: For sure he leaves a big hole because heís a very good player. Weíre going to miss him because heís an All-Star. Playing with him makes it easier for everybody, but we gotta play and itís an opportunity for me and other players to step up and to do something more.

Do you feel the Raptors are your team now?

AB: Theyíve always been my team. I was in a nice spot last year too. I was the second option last year. We have to finish the team because the market is not closed yetÖ And I just hope we make better. We didnít make the playoffs, so itís not like we come from a championship. We can only get better.

How do you think the team has done during this offseason?

AB: I think we signed very talented players: Kleiza, Andersen, the two young guys that we draftedÖ Maybe they are not ready today to go on the court and do something, but they have a great potential to develop and grow. DeMar (DeRozan) got much better, Sonny Weems too in the summer leagueÖ We took Barbosa, who likes to play an up-tempo gameÖ Weíre a pretty young team, athletic, we can run a lot. Should be a fun basketball to play.

Which position would you like to play this year?

AB: My natural position of course is power forward. But the last four years, I played at the five and I did good. I got better every year. It doesnít really make a difference, but if you ask me what position I prefer to play, I have to say power forward.

In which areas do you think you will have to step up the most this season?

AB: I gotta continue to get better on the rebounding and the low post.

Is the All-Star Game a goal for you this season? And do you think that would be a realistical goal?

AB: I think the All-Star Game is a goal and a dream for all the players in the world. You practice, you try to get better every yearÖ You canít do nothing more than that.

What was your reaction when you learned Bosh was going to Miami?

AB: I wasnít surprised. His contract was finished and the feeling was that he was going to leave. You could feel that he was going to leave for the last couple of months before the end of the season. Everybody had this kind of feeling. So I wasnít surprised.

Some people believe he gave up on the team late last season. What do you think about that?

AB: Every time he was wearing the jersey on the court, he always played hard. His numbers prove that. Heís a good player. As for personal stuff, I donít know, I canít know and personally I donít want to know. Everybody can think whatever.

How do you feel about your NBA career so far?

AB: I got better every year. You cannot ask more than that. But you always want more, so Iím not satisfied. I mean, Iím satisfied with my career, but I donít feel like Iíve arrived. I feel like I have to keep working and do much more than what Iíve done.

Do you feel the pressure that comes with being picked No. 1 in the draft?

AB: Not really. I had more pressure when I was in Europe and I didnít know if I was going to the NBA or I was staying in Europe. One year before the draft, I didnít even know what the draft was. I think the draft is more pressure for an American player. For me, for European players, itís just a way of getting to the NBA. It doesnít mean much being No. 1 or No. 2. I was very happy with being No. 1 because it was an historical thing for an European player. But I was even more happy because I got the chance to go to a city like Toronto.

What would you say to those critics you have that question your toughness or your passion for the game?

AB: Anything a player makes, heís going to have critics about it. You have to start worrying when nobody criticizes you. With a good player, people will criticize and challenge you. And thatís the best thing because that gives you extra motivation.

Other than the extra motivation, does this affect you in any way?

AB: No, because if somebody tells me I donít have passion that doesnít make anything to me because that doesnít have any sense. Without passion, you donít arrive in the NBA. The NBA is not a joke. You have to work all your life to get in the NBA. So the stupid criticism without any sense doesnít make anything to me. But there is some criticism that is real. I mean, if somebody tells me I have to get better on something, maybe I realize that itís true so I try to get better. So some stuff is good to know.

There was talk last year about a division between American and foreign players in the locker room. Is there any truth to that?

AB: There wasnít any division, no. We were cool. Of course with European guys you have more things to talk about, right? Itís common sense. But we were cool with everybody and friends with everybody. If I speak with Jose (Calderon), I got more things to speak about because we come from almost the same place and we can talk about the cities weíve been in Spain or Italy.

What has been wrong with the Italian National Team the past few years? The team has been very successful in the past, but they have been struggling lately.

AB: Playing in Europe is really tough. The other teams are always very good and have a lot of players with a lot of experience in Euroleague and big teams. In Italy, itís different. The Italian basketball, the championshipÖ Itís not big like in Spain, for example. We are pretty young. We need to grow up and learn how to play together. Europe is not easy.